While the thought of a Snow Patrol side project may have some people running for the hills, guitarist Nathan Connolly's new band are a long way from his other group's lighter-waving melancholy. Twiddling thumbs between their arena-filling tours has clearly left a desire to unleash his hitherto unheard inner rock beast. Thus, Little Matador's dirty, raw, aggressive rock'n'roll, which lies somewhere between Queens of the Stone Age and the heavier Arctic Monkeys, with a dash of post-punk tension. These songs hardly reinvent the wheel but sound energised and invigorated, as if they were designed to be played live and loud. Stitch Yourself Up, Reasons and Shatter are hard-hitting but tuneful stompers, Connolly's voice packing enough attitude to carry the lyrical barrage of imagery, arguments, quips, screams and insults. Boom Boom's "Heart beats out of my chest, it's racing" mantra particularly sounds like it documents a wild night out, which may be the point, as Little Matador is the sound of someone throwing off the shackles.